Scrap metal recycling guides
Plain-language guides for people selling scrap or clearing a site in Brisbane. Each guide is dated and lists its sources.
Guides
What scrap metal is worth the most?
Clean copper is usually the most valuable everyday scrap metal per kilogram. Brass comes next, then stainless steel and aluminium, then steel and iron. Grade, cleanliness, quantity and world prices decide what a yard pays.Read the guide Updated
How to identify scrap metal and tell copper from brass
Start with a magnet, then scratch a hidden spot and check the weight. Copper is reddish-gold, brass is yellow, and neither sticks to a magnet. No test is certain on its own. Never use sparks, flame or acid.Read the guide Updated
How to prepare scrap metal for collection
Sort scrap by metal with a magnet. Keep batteries, gas bottles, fuel, asbestos and fridge gas out of the pile. Stack it so it can't fall, and photograph it with the way in. Good photos help us quote your pick-up.Read the guide Updated
Selling scrap metal in Queensland: ID and records
Yes, expect to show ID. A licensed second-hand dealer in Queensland must see ID with your name and address, and record who you are and how you got the goods. Queensland passed new scrap metal laws in October 2026. The theft offences apply now; stricter dealer ID rules start later.Read the guide Updated
How scrap metal is recycled
Scrap metal is recycled in five stages: collection, sorting, processing, melting and refining, and casting into ingots that manufacturers turn into new products. Each metal has its own route, and good sorting makes every step work.Read the guide Updated
These guides answer the questions people ask before they sell scrap metal. Each one is dated and checked against official sources, so you can follow the links and confirm the facts yourself.
Already know what you have? Go to the page for that material under scrap metal recycling.
Not sure what you have? Start with how to identify scrap metal. Want the whole process first? Read how it works.
How these guides are written
Each guide answers one question. The short answer comes first, then the detail.
When a rule comes from the Queensland Government or another official body, the guide links to it. No guide invents a price. Any figure comes from a cited source.
Guides can go out of date. Each one shows when it was last checked. Check the official page again before you rely on a rule.
Related pages
Got scrap metal to sell?
Call us, or send a few photos and details with the quote form. We reply with a quote and pick it up from your site.